


Dormant

by monokurosora



Category: BioShock
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, i question calling cohen's death major since even in the game it's optional but whatever, spoilers for atlas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 14:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7225975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monokurosora/pseuds/monokurosora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After spending so much time in the traumatic experience that is Rapture, you won't believe what this man does next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dormant

It’s quiet when Jack wakes, an all-too eerie silence that is only permeated by the soft rushing of water some distance away. The room he had holed himself up in seemed to be a decent choice, as the only way in and out had been barricaded well enough to keep him locked in and the terrors that roamed the barren city out.

Jack can hear the low rumble of a nearby Big Daddy making its rounds in the ruins of this underwater metropolis, and as he focuses on listening to the sounds outside, he thinks he can even place the loud chattering sounds of a splicer or two further out.

He places his ear against the door of the storage closet, listening carefully for any sounds of splicer activity. After spending so long trapped in the underwater dystopia, Jack assumed he’d get used to their drug-starved antics. He instead spent every moment in constant anxiety over when the next one would jump out from god-knows-where, in constant fear of the remaining residents of Rapture. 

Determining that no splicers are within earshot, Jack begins to disassemble the barricade blocking the door. He shoves desks and a bookcase out of the way, then finally snaps his fingers to melt the ice he had frozen the locking mechanism with earlier. He equips himself with his shotgun and makes sure it’s fully loaded before opening the door.

He pokes his head out and glances in all directions, but sees nothing in terms of splicer activity. Assuming he is the only one in the hall, Jack steps out of the doorframe, only to immediately retreat back in as something begins to fire heavy-duty ammo at him. He launches an electro bolt in the direction the bullets come from, and hears the shrieking of a splicer as his attack makes its mark.

Jack throws up his shotgun and fires multiple times at the sparking figure, watching them as they cry out a few times before going silent and falling to the floor. Blood splatters shine on the wall behind where they had stood, and Jack makes quick work of looting the body for anything useful. He reloads his gun, and makes sure that everything of his is in order before continuing on his way.

He moves with utter silence in his steps, avoiding puddles and other noise-making patches on the ground. He fires at splicers who pass before they even notice he’s there, and has left their looted corpses before others can even find the body. Jack Ryan is a killing machine, and he loathes it to his very core.

Everything about being in Rapture, from the splicers to the plasmids to the Big Daddies and Little Sisters is revolting and grotesque, but it’s the most at home he has ever felt in his entire life. Jack hates it. He hates the killing, the suffering, the pinnacle of technology and innovation known as Rapture that had revealed itself to be nothing more than a gilded cage for these sorry people to live out the rest of their pathetic existences in before being forgotten about by the rest of the world.

He detests it, and if it hadn’t been for Atlas -- no, if it hadn’t been for Fontaine. Atlas didn’t exist. It had been Fontaine all along, leading him, guiding him, tricking him with that smooth voice, those convincing lies that he couldn’t believe he had actually  _ fallen for _ ...

Jack is roused rudely from his internal monologue as bullets sail past his head, and he fires two quick shots from the shotgun in his hands, hearing the splatter of guts and the thump of a body on the floor to signal the success of another dead splicer. Looting the body comes up with only a handful of cash and a few pistol rounds, which Jack uses to reload the smaller gun attached to his hip.

He moves on quickly, letting himself stop for a few minutes at a vending machine, hacking the damned thing and coughing up the proper cash to refill his meager supplies. Making sure every weapon is loaded and EVE hypos are plentiful is far more important than his physical health needs, as Jack is fairly certain that at this point he’s consumed so much ADAM from the Little Sisters he’s rescued that it’s the only thing coursing through his veins anymore.

Jack keeps himself from staying in one place for too long, and is constantly on the move, going from apartment to apartment in Mercury Suites, visiting each and raiding them as best he can.

When he reaches Cohen’s, however, he’s surprised to see two splicers dancing to music playing on a gramophone near them, completely oblivious to their surroundings. His radio picks up static, and Jack hears Cohen’s voice carry over the background noise. It’s muffled, though, as the thing is half busted from him smashing it up a bit in an earlier scuffle, and Jack can’t make out much more than Cohen issuing a greeting of some kind.

Jack inches closer to the two, curiosity piqued. They either haven’t yet noticed him, or have but don’t care enough to do anything about it. The radio crackles once more, but still Jack can barely make heads or tails of it. However, it does sound like a warning against the two splicers locked in their dance.

Jack takes this as a bit of saving grace, as he has no intention to bring the hellish wrath of the artisan down upon himself, and maneuvers around the two, careful to not disturb any of their setup. He searches the rest of the apartment, as it seems Cohen has no cares about anything other than his duo dancing in the spotlight.

One or two splicers had hidden themselves in Cohen’s apartment, but a few shotgun blasts had taken quick care of the issue, and other than that Jack finds nothing of note other than a few small things: some cash and a couple rounds of ammunition. He gazes curiously at the door that must lead up to the second floor, and figures that if Cohen is up there, the only way to get up there himself is to bring Cohen down to him.

Jack weighs the pros and cons of sending a man such as Cohen upon himself, and decides it’s nothing more than what he’s already done. Tens if not hundreds are already on his body count, so what’s one more at this point? Jack secures his shotgun on his back and equips the crossbow Cohen gifted to him only days ago. How ironic that the man who gave him his strongest weapon would be dying at its end? Jack approaches the dancing couple and, before he has time to change his mind, fires two shots from the bow.

Both fly true and make their marks; the two dancers collapse onto the floor as the gramophone continues to play its classical tune. Jack’s radio spits out static once more, and the man ignores it as the door to the upper floor of Cohen’s apartment flies open and the man himself comes storming out, screaming at Jack in a volume so loud Jack knows it’s certain to attract more splicers than he wants to deal with. Jack aims and fires, and Cohen is struck in the shoulder, yelling even louder now that Jack has shot him. The man dissipates in a flash of red smoke, and Jack watches for the signal of his reappearance, having long learned the secrets of splicers like Cohen.

As soon as he sees the quick flicker of red another two arrows are shot, and Cohen is down, yelling in pain as red spreads across his white shirt. Jack fires another two arrows at the downed man, and his cries subside, going quiet as the last of his life fades.

Jack wastes no time in searching the corpses for any kinds of loot; the dancers yield nothing, but Cohen has a key on him and mountains of money, both of which Jack certainly knows will be put to good use.

He then quickly heads upstairs, glancing around the artist’s private chambers, looking for anything of value. He almost heads out before he notices something glinting near the giant ocean-view window behind the bed. He steps towards it and realizes his boon: a Power to the People machine sits there, unused and waiting for someone to upgrade their weapons of choice.

Jack offers up his pistol, and the machine spits out the same gun, but with a newly built-on contraption to hold more in the clip. With this, the machine powers down, no longer useable, and Jack leaves Cohen’s apartment, heading back out into the quiet of Rapture.

**Author's Note:**

> killing cohen with the crossbow was strangely satisfying but the loot retrieved from the key was not.  
> thank you jo for being my ever-wonderful beta even though you've never even played this game.


End file.
